Uzbek SSR

The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic was a Soviet socialist republic that existed from 1924 to 1991, with Tashkent serving as its capital. The republic was created from parts of the Bukharan People's Soviet Republic, the Khorezm People's Soviet Republic, and the Turkestan ASSR, with Uzbekistan becoming one of the republics of the USSR. From 1928 to the late 1930s, agriculture was collectivized, and a number of alleged Uzbek nationalists were executed from 1937 to 1938 during the Great Purge. During World War II, many businesses and their Russian and Ukrainian workers were relocated to Uzbekistan to keep them safe, altering the demographics of the republic. The government closed down most mosques in the country, turned religious schools into anti-religious museums, and increased the literacy rate to almost 100%, virtually eliminating illiteracy. On 31 August 1991, during the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Uzbek SSR declared independence from the USSR, and the referendum was confirmed on 29 December 1991.